It has been known in the past to employ a mobile suction head as part of a machine for the cleaning of floor surfaces, especially a machine for wet cleaning of such surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,531,370 discloses a suction mop suitable for use in scrubbing floors and the like. This suction mop comprises a mop head including a U-shaped channel in which an inverted squeegee blade can be removably supported.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,178 relates to a vacuum cleaner comprising a vacuum suction nozzle having an inlet near the floor, and an elongate floor brush located near this inlet. This brush is resiliently attached to the vacuum nozzle by way of a U-shaped clip coupled to the nozzle by way of a leaf spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,371 discloses vacuuming equipment for treating floors, in particular a pick-up tool assembly comprising a vacuum head, means for positioning said vacuum head in a fixed functional relationship to the surface to be cleaned, while in use. These positioning means include a non-removable elongate squeegee which is attached to the assembly by a pair of clip elements.
Furthermore, WO-94/20010 discloses a suction head for a floor cleaning machine comprising a housing and a package consisting of a squeegee blade and a clip element, whereby the size and shape of said clip element and the housing are such that this package can be removably fixed into the housing and the squeegee blade can be removably fixed into the clip element. For obtaining an effective removable fixation of the squeegee blade inside the clip element, the clip element according to this document comprises sharp projections on the inner surface thereof.
However, even when using a clip element with such sharp projections in a suction head configuration according to WO-94/20010, a significant amount of skill was found to be required to ensure that the squeegee blade is well fixed over its entire length. Furthermore, the suction head configuration disclosed by WO-94/20010 is sensitive for tolerances in squeegee blade thickness, which also endangers the reliability of the squeegee blade fixation in the clip element.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a suction head for a floor cleaning machine, comprising a squeegee blade which is removably fixed and having a configuration such that the above-mentioned problems are overcome.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a suction head configuration which can be simply and reliably operated and allows efficient use of the squeegee blade applied therein.
It has now surprisingly been found that these and other objects can be achieved by the suction head according to the present invention.